Fight back with StopBadware.org

I ran across this USAToday article that introduces a new idea in the fight against adware, spyware and other deceptive software distribution practices: public shaming. StopBadware.org is a clearinghouse for reports of software distributed with pernicious "extras".

The site is run as a cooperative venture between Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, The Oxford Internet Institute and Consumer Reports WebWatch. Before downloading software, users can check StopBadware.org to see what they're really getting along with that elf-bowling game. It's a community-driven effort that relies on users to submit reports for inclusion in the database, so there are no listings yet (it just opened up today).

This is a fabulous idea. Most legitimate software distributors would be loath to see themselves listed on this site, and maybe it will spur them to clean up their act. However, the best thing about this site is their set of guidelines for software publishers. It reads very much like a software downloader's "bill of rights". For example, clause #2 states:

2. Prohibited Behavior. An application must not engage in deceptive, unfair, harassing or otherwise annoying practices. For example, an application must not:
            (a) use an end user's computer system for any purpose not understood and affirmatively consented to by the end user. This includes: for purposes of consuming bandwidth or computer resources, sending email messages, launching denial of service attacks, accruing toll charges through a dialer or obtaining personal information from an end user's computer such as login, password, or other account information;
            (b) intentionally create or exploit any security vulnerabilities in end user computers to cause the computer to malfunction;
            (c) trigger unwanted pop-ups, pop-unders, exit windows, or similar obstructive or intrusive functionality, that materially interfere with an end user's Web navigation or browsing or the use of his or her computer;
            (d) repeatedly ask an end user to take, or try to deceive an end user into taking, a previously declined action (such as repeatedly asking an end user to change his or her home page or some other setting or configuration);
            (e) redirect browser traffic away from valid DNS entries. (Except for applications that direct unresolved URLs to an alternative URL, provided that the destination page adequately informs the end user of the source of that page); or,
            (f) interfere with the browser default search functionality. (Except that an application may permit an end user to change his or her default search engine with proper disclosure, consent and attribution).

Here's a simple list of 6 things that software should never do, yet we see examples of each behavior every day. If software publishers stuck to this list, there would be no need for StopBadware.org. Until they do, though, you know where to look before downloading.